South African cricket boss Gerald Majola has threatened to boycott tours of Australia if the racial abuse towards the Proteas continues, the Mercury newspaper reported on Monday.
Its website quoted Majola as saying: ”It is very serious and if it continues, yes, we would look very seriously about whether we return here for another series.”
Majola is on a visit to Perth to support the national team against Sri Lanka in the VB Series on Tuesday.
He bemoaned incidents where members of the South African cricket team have been the target of racist remarks from spectators.
”It is not right when a country has a history like ours. It is something that we never thought we would hear about,” Majola said.
”The sad thing is, it has continued around Australia. It hasn’t just been limited to one state or one city.”
The first incident was in Perth in December. Makhaya Ntini, Garnett Kruger, Herschelle Gibbs and Ashwell Prince were abused by sections of the crowd who used the word ”kaffir”.
Some white players like Shaun Pollock and Andre Nel were called ”kaffir boetie”.
Security had been beefed up for Tuesday’s match in Perth as Australian officials are desperate to avoid a repeat of last month’s taunting, said the website.
Western Australia Cricket Association Chief Executive Tony Dodemaide said any spectator found to be racially abusing a player would be ejected. – Sapa